


Achilles Come Down

by Cityoffayz



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Anakin Skywalker Needs a Hug, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Master & Padawan Relationship(s), Obi-Wan Kenobi Loves Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi Needs a Hug, Platonic Obikin, Post-Episode: s05e20 The Wrong Jedi, Suicide Attempt, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-12 15:07:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29386749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cityoffayz/pseuds/Cityoffayz
Summary: 'How the most dangerous thing is to love'------“General! It’s… it’s General Skywalker, sir”
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano (mentioned), Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 6
Kudos: 117





	Achilles Come Down

**Author's Note:**

> Title and fic inspired by the song Achilles Come Down by Gang of Youths  
> A few lines taken from the unfinished Utapau arc.

“General! It’s… it’s General Skywalker, sir”

Rex was helmetless, out of breath and, strangely, alone. The last Obi-Wan had seen of Rex was him standing with Anakin, the pair minding the celebrations to make sure nothing got out of hand. The 501st and 212th gained a significant foothold in the siege after days of no progress, and they all needed something to celebrate. Obi-Wan had politely declined the invitation to join, instead taking the opportunity to finally report to the Jedi Council on the manic events of the week.

“What trouble has my former Padawan gotten into now?” Obi-Wan chuckled, setting down his datapad.

Rex didn’t laugh, rather, only looked more concerned. Obi-Wan blanched a little.

“Captain, what’s wrong?”

“Sir, I don’t know what to do, I tried- can you please just follow me?”

Obi-Wan stood and began following Rex through the camp. Only a few men were still up, those who were assigned on patrol duty for the night. Rex didn’t spare them a second glance, he just hurried on.

“We were all drinking sir, the General as well, and he got a little… well”

Anakin was a terrible drunk; either hellishly weepy or wonderfully violent. Obi-Wan had unfortunately learnt this the hard way, on their first extended leave of the Clone Wars. The pair had decided to join the clones at 79’s, and the night had ended with Obi-Wan physically dragging Anakin into their quarters, where the younger man had promptly thrown up.

“I thought he had just left to go to the bathroom, but he didn’t come back. So I went looking and. And I found him”

A chill ran down Obi-Wan’s spine. Anakin couldn’t have gotten hurt, Rex would’ve just told him outright. Obi-Wan tried to push a little on his bond with Anakin, but felt nothing. Not that that was unusual anymore. Aside from on the battlefield, Anakin always had his shields firmly up. Their bond had not been the same for a long time.  
Not since Rako Hardeen.

“Found him where?”

Cato Neimodia was famed for its bridge cities, entire civilisations suspended thousands of feet above the ground. Through structurally sound, and a magnificent feet of architecture, there was always a danger living so far from stable ground. This danger was only heightened by the climate, a fog so thick that it could sometimes blind the inhabitants.  
Obi-wan and Anakin had made sure to set their camp as far away from the edge of the bridge city as they could, lest any accidents happen. A ‘barricade’ of sorts had been created, the battalions had set their ships in a neat line. No one could accidentally wander past the ships without seeing them, and being alerted to the dangerous ground.

Rex led Obi-Wan right through the ships, onto the unstable ground and kept going. Right to the edge, where the fog was at its heaviest and the only thing that separated the bridge city from oblivion was three foot of railing.

Obi-Wan looked through the fog, and felt his heart stop.

Anakin was standing on the edge of the railing, facing away. He was casually tossing his lightsaber in the air as he swayed back and forth. He didn’t acknowledge either of them when they walked closer.

“Anakin?” Obi-Wan fought hard to keep his voice steady. “What are you doing?”

Anakin didn’t reply. Obi-Wan turned to Rex for some kind of explanation.

“He was saying something earlier about… about the Commander. I tried to get him to come down but he wouldn’t listen. He’s drunk sir, but it’s more than that.”

Obi-wan nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving Anakin. “Go find Kix, and bring some sort of medical tranquilizer. Just in case” He said quietly.

“Yes, sir”

Anakin didn’t move as Rex turned and ran away. He merely stood, teetering back and forth on his heels.

“Anakin? Talk to me Anakin, please”

“Leave me alone Obi-Wan” His voice was distinctly slurred, his voice catching a little as he said Obi-Wan’s name. He was definitely far too drunk to be standing where he is now.

“Please, dear one, just turn around and look at me”

Anakin slowly turned, Obi-Wan wincing at every wobble.

Anakin had always worn his heart on his sleeve, his emotions plain and easy to read on his face. In the early years, Obi-Wan had tried to rid him of the habit. It wouldn’t do for a Jedi to feel so easily, and so much. But it was easier said than done with Anakin. He didn’t enjoy meditation, and preferred to unleash his emotions in fighting, which was definitely not recommended. Nothing seemed to work, and before long Anakin was no longer Obi-Wan’s padawan, and he wasn’t able to finish teaching Anakin the lesson.

Anakin had to grow up too fast.

Obi-Wan had seen Anakin at his worst. After his mother’s death...Anakin didn’t speak to him properly for a while. Obi-Wan could feel frustration, pain, at his end of the bond, but he couldn’t force him to speak about it if he didn’t want to. When he finally did… Obi-Wan hoped he would never have to see his Padawan in such pain again.

Today was proving his hopes foolish.

Anakin looked broken. His eyes shone in the dark, tears flowing freely, staining his pale face. He made a weak attempt to clean them, jerkily patting the tears away with his long sleeve. He stared down at his feet or at the sky, but never looked in Obi-Wan’s direction. He didn’t see the cold fear and panic taking over Obi-Wan’s face.

“Now, come on down from there, alright?” Obi-Wan stretched his hand out, willing Anakin to take it.

“I want you to leave me alone” Anakin’s wild gesticulation with his lightsaber hilt made Obi-Wan unconsciously take a step back.

“Look, just step down, and we can talk about this, okay?”

“We can talk about this, can we?” Obi-Wan winced at the venomous laughter in Anakin’s voice. “So this time it’s not ‘oh, release your feelings into the force Anakin’ ‘dreams will pass in time Anakin’ Now we are talking? This is a first. I better alert the Jedi Council, they’ll be shocked right out of their seats”

“Now Anakin-”

“Oops, here comes the lecture”

“I am not going to lecture you” Obi-Wan slowly inched his way forward, the last thing he wanted to do was to startle him. “Just tell me what’s wrong, and we can talk.”

Anakin didn’t reply, merely looked slightly to his right.

This was their first mission after Ahsoka had left. And Anakin had insisted a million and one times that he was alright. He had said it after the briefing where they had accepted the mission, on the flight out to Cato Neimodia, when they had begun to set up their siege on the bridge city, after their first and second and third skirmish with the Separatists. But Obi-Wan hadn’t failed to notice the small glances to the right that Anakin made. Looking to where Ahsoka once stood.

“Anakin. I know it is difficult. But dwelling on Ahsoka’s decision won’t bring her back”

“How would you feel?” Anakin shouted, his face twisted in sudden fury. “If I left the Order? If I walked away and left you? After everything we had done together. What if I failed you?”

Obi-Wan sighed, trying not to look too pitying. His former Padawan never failed to see the worst in himself. “Luckily that isn't true. And never will be.”

“I already have” Anakin choked. “I’m supposed to be the Chosen One! To bring balance to the force, and I couldn’t even save my Padawan-”

“You did save her Anakin-”

“And every day more and more people die because I am not fulfilling this stupid prophecy-”

“The war is not your fault-”

“And I need to be doing more, but I can’t think straight, and this voice is just telling me to give in and jump already and I don’t want to listen to it but maybe...maybe I do”

Obi-Wan felt his body freeze. “Voice? What voice?”

“In here!” Anakin hit his own head with such force that Obi-Wan winced. “I hear it all the time! It wants me to do this and that, to hurt- And I don’t want to, so I don’t, and it tells me I’m weak and I’m stupid and I’m pointless, I’m nothing, I'm nothing, I'm nothing-”

“Anakin please!” Obi-Wan made a desperate grab to stop Anakin from hurting himself further, but was pushed back before he could even touch him.

“ _Please_ Obi-Wan, just leave me alone!”

“Whatever that voice is, that voice is not your friend, you can’t trust it!” Obi-Wan’s voice softened as he stretched out his hand again for Anakin to take. "You can trust me. Please let me help you”

"You can't help me, no one can help me" Anakin was nearing hysterics now, and was tiptoeing close, far too close to the edge.

"At least let me try" Obi-Wan pleaded softly, preparing to grab Anakin if he decided to let go. "You're like my brother Anakin, I love you. Let me try"

Anakin’s voice was small, pathetic. “You don’t love me”

“Anakin, listen to me” Obi-Wan moved one step closer, setting one arm on Anakin’s wrist. “I do love you. I want to help you. Now, _please_. Step down”

Anakin’s face crumpled. He no longer looked angry or frustrated, he just looked tired. A tentative hand reached over touch where Obi-Wan’s own held his wrist. Obi-Wan acted quickly, moving to hold Anakin’s hand tightly.

“Come on, dear one, that’s it”

Anakin collapsed into Obi-Wan’s arms, weeping broken sobs into the older man’s shoulder. And in an instant, they weren’t Jedi Generals, Knight and Master anymore. Anakin was a youngling, desperately missing his mother, and Obi-Wan was a new Jedi Knight, worn down by grief, doing his best to comfort someone who was just as lonely as him.

Rex came back with Kix, the latter man holding a medical bag the size of a small tank. If he was surprised at seeing his General, tear stained, desperately leaning on Obi-Wan for support, he didn’t say anything.  
It had taken surprisingly little persuasion for Anakin to take something that would knock him out for the rest of the night. Normally an intervention of this ilk would be met with plentiful melodramatic protest. Obi-Wan made sure that Anakin got into his bed, and made sure he fell asleep. He then sat next to him the rest of the night, never taking his eyes off his Padawans fitful sleep.

Anakin never seemed to understand how much he meant to Obi-Wan. He appeared to be under the impression that he was incapable of love or attachments. Which, of course, wasn’t true. Obi-Wan could love.  
He had loved Qui-Gon. And lost him.  
He had loved Satine. And lost her.  
And he loved Anakin, more than he ever thought he could. Obi-Wan reached over and held Anakin’s hand. He was the one attachment Obi-Wan refused to break. Even if Anakin would never believe it, Obi-Wan would love him and worry about him, and stay up the whole night just to make sure his breath never faltered.

A sudden warmth shot through Obi-Wan, filling a space that was long cold. Even in his deep slumber, Anakin responded to Obi-Wan's touch, clasping his hand back tightly. Slowly but surely, the bond between him and Anakin began to shine, and strengthen, mend what had been broken. Obi-Wan couldn’t help but break into a wide smile.  
If Anakin was willing to open himself up to Obi-Wan again, he would be damned if he ever lost that connection again.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing a Star Wars fanfic, but have become inspired over the past few months to write one.  
> Also I love these characters and their dynamic and they just deserved so much more.


End file.
